Reorganized Somerset School Committee nixes interviews for superintendent-business manager position

Thursday

May 15, 2014 at 9:58 PMMay 16, 2014 at 12:13 AM

At first meeting, board pledges to again look at ways to potentially share administration with regional school committee

Michael Holtzman Herald News Staff Reporter @MDHoltzman

SOMERSET — The changing of the School Committee guard went off with a bang Thursday night.

It began with a decision to scrap finalist interviews for the superintendent-business manager job posting.

“The item that we posted may not be the position any longer,” School Committee member Victor Machado said.

At its reorganizational meeting Thursday night, the committee voted 5-0 not to hold the interviews and to seek a meeting with the Somerset Berkley Regional School Committee immediately after the annual Town Meeting is held Monday night. The aim is to try again, with new boards, to find a way to share a superintendent and other administrators between the two districts.

Mahjoory, elected chairman at the first meeting after Monday’s election, said the board wants to see quickly if there’s common ground to appoint one superintendent for the K-8 and Somerset Berkley districts.

One of the three finalists for this superintendent-business manager role, Kyle Riley of Fall River, had already withdrawn from consideration earlier in the day, officials said.

After a fairly one-sided discussion to make shared administration with the regional school board a priority, the committee postponed indefinitely the interviews scheduled with the other two finalists: Pauline Camara of Somerset, who is principal of Somerset Middle School; and Jeffrey Schoonover of Somerset, the assistant superintendent of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, public schools.

“I’m not surprised. It’s difficult. They didn’t even have time to get to know each other,” said Camara, who cut her teeth as Somerset's interim superintendent for several weeks at the beginning of the current school year.

On the lack of shared administration, Camara said, “The town is up in arms over this.”

Machado, Mahjoory and newly elected Melissa Terra all expressed that sentiment.

“It goes against everything we promised” while campaigning for during election season, Machado said.

“I agree with (Machado),” Terra said.

She also said the new committee needed to organize the process rather than continue interviews set up by the prior School Committee, chaired by Robert Camara. He lost his seat in a three-way race to Terra and Mahjoory.

Lori Rothwell, unanimously voted vice chairwoman in her second year on the board, was more circumspect before voting with her colleagues to postpone the interviews.

“We do need to keep moving along,” Rothwell said, adding that she’d be willing to discuss the issue with the regional school committee next week.

She noted that Richard Medeiros, Somerset’s superintendent, is leaving his job to become the superintendent of Freetown-Lakeville on June 30.

“We could be exposing ourselves without having a superintendent for a period of time,” Rothwell said.

Michael Botelho, another newly elected member, expressed reservations. “I would see this as a significant risk to the schools,” he said.

Machado called that a valid point, while noting how Pauline Camara had filled in and saying other staff members were capable.

Mahjoory said members had spoken with Richard Peirce, who chairs the regional board, and he hoped a meeting could be held Tuesday or Wednesday.

The Somerset board also voted two members to serve on the regional school committee. On a 4-1 vote, with Machado opposed, the committee selected Terra and Rothwell.

Machado said he supported Terra but not Rothwell after asking her to give a commitment to a shared administration.

“I am committed to a shared administration. You do have to understand I’m very concerned how we have to move forward to meet the needs of everyone,” Rothwell said.

In another significant development, the K-8 district’s second elementary principal has announced he will leave at the end of the school year after accepting a new job.

Zachary Waddicor — the principal of Wilbur Elementary School whom Medeiros recently picked to take over as South Elementary School principal once Wilbur closes in September — was informing his staff today that he’s leaving, officials said.

Waddicor has accepted a position as assistant director of curriculum for the Falmouth Public Schools, starting July 1, Medeiros said.

His appointment after the school year as principal at South was the result of Thomas Gastall’s resignation as Chace Elementary School principal. Gastall is returning to his former job as principal of Westport Elementary School.

Medeiros had assigned South Elementary School Principal Elizabeth Townson to Chace and Waddicor to South after July 1.

Medeiros said he’s begin seeking applications for the South Elementary School job.

“I’m pretty confident, given the time frame, we can have something in place,” he said of a replacement.

Waddicor did not return phone calls Thursday for comment. The committee did not address the change at the meeting.

Mahjoory asked for a moment of silence to honor a 35-year Somerset educator who died Thursday.

Edward L. Sullivan of Somerset rose up the ranks from guidance counselor in 1959 to serve as assistant superintendent for his last 14 years before retiring in 1994, according to a biography school officials distributed.

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